Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

The film is a fascinating look at a man who profoundly changed the tenor of modern political campaigns.

Stefan Forbes does an excellent job of charting Lee Atwater's political life, and you get enough of the personal to get a sense of the complexities of the man. As you hear stories told by people who are still very active in politics today—Ed Rollins, Terry McAuliffe and Tucker Eskew —it's easy to make a connection between Atwater's political legacy and current election dramas . . . It's something to see Tucker Eskew speak with such glowing admiration of Lee Atwater knowing that he was recently hired by the McCain campaign!!!

I really enjoyed the film—found it entertaining and enlightening.

Terry McCauliff introduced this mind blowing film at the Democratic Convention. The Starz sponsored "Impact Film Festival 08" showed Boogie Man at both political conventions. That says everything about the conflicting legacy of Lee Atwater, presented with heart and humor in Boogie Man.

The filmmaker Stefan Forbes is brilliant in his storytelling. Where did he find those old clips of Atwater, in a creepy, sweaty trance.....performing funky blues on his electric guitar. Atwater's raw passion and his demons were in the room when he wailed into the mic. Bill Clinton playing saxophone looks darned angelic in comparison.

Forbes' bluesy, gritty music track is so intertwined throughout that is seems to ooze out of Lee Atwater's crazy pores.

When you see this film, you'll know what the Democrats need to do to get Barack and a new Congress elected in November. And beyond. I promise!

Political docs are often dry and impersonal. This portrait of republican strategist Lee Atwater is anything but.

Boogie Man is a compelling story of an intense man driven by power and attention. Like so many in politics, but also on Wall street or in Hollywood, this guy is about winning at all costs. It has great music that keeps you tapping your foot. The film also provides a compellingly smart analysis of media and advertising strategies given by experts in the political world. The film's unexpected story arc that kept me riveted to the screen.

The archival footage of the Bush family is also priceless.

American politics at it's most revealing, in "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story", illuminating the most destructive forces at work in American politics over the last thirty years.

The media, candidates, personal friends and colleagues reveal a deeply troubled man, seeking power at all costs. Lee Atwater is a real bully in every sense of the word, using his somewhat smarmy southern charm to both make himself look like "every man", as well as, the candidates he represents.

At one point, the conservative political strategist, Mary Matalin defends Atwater as "brilliant" and appears sentimental about her colleague and his unethical approaches to politics. In every clip, quote and historical reference Lee Atwater appears to be the Devil himself. The scariest part of this film, is seeing Rove groomed to be Atwater's successor.

Rove can attribute every one of his devious political strategies to the mastermind evil genius of Lee Atwater. This film portrays the average American as a sentimentalist, carefully "played" at our most basic fears and prejudice.

Watch this film and share it with others, to awaken your consciousness to what is truthful and real in the dirty world of American politics. What you hear in the next campaign slogan, should be considered carefully, as a probable misrepresentation of the truth.

Much of what is worst in American politics is on display in the career of Lee Atwater, a bogeyman for Democrats he put to the sword with underhand tactics both offensive and dishonest. Two interesting things emerge from this documentary: firstly, that far from being an ideologue, Atwater played the game for its own sake, with a ruthless cynicism so naked as to almost be disarming: sometimes it's easy to love an unashamed rogue, even if that rogue does more harm than a conventional hypocrite. Secondly, although Atwater died (of a brain tumour) in the early 1990s, in many ways, George W. Bush is Atwater's legacy; and indeed, Karl Rove was Atwater's protégé. Michael Dukakis, floored by Atwater's dirtiest campaign, is an interesting interviewee here: he comes across as naive in expecting anything better, and maybe that's the saddest aspect of the way that Atwater changed politics. It's probably mistaken to assign too much influence to one man; but it's also possible to fear that the demon of spin will never return to the box.